


Home

by WoodsOfBlight



Category: Rayman (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Post-R2, animated characters need more love, post-TAS, redhead alliance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24397717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoodsOfBlight/pseuds/WoodsOfBlight
Summary: It's a lot harder to find a place where you belong, when you've forgotten what that means.
Kudos: 4





	Home

The taste was indescribable.

It had only taken a single, foolishly large sip for her to immediately regret the past few minutes. It burned, not even because of the hot liquid, but rather some kind of internal blaze, designed to scorch and smolder everything to ashes. Something designed to eradicate life, till nothing remained. Tears filled her eyes, but the shameful idea of spitting it out hurt even more than the drink itself. 

With a will of steel and the wisdom of a fool, she swallowed the offending mixture. The gasp for air came not a moment later, in a desperate bid to quell the fire inside, before she’d melt into a puddle in the otherwise quite comfortable chair.

Betilla, the kind and honored nymph, and also quite likely a diabolical and deeply malevolent warlock of the Glade, retained her kindly smile from before, even as her guest seemed intent on transforming into a dragon before her eyes. She took a sip of the same exact liquid she has, and although her face flushed a bit red, she showed none of the other colorful responses.

“I tried to warn you.” she said, unable to hide the amusement from her voice at least. “It’s a bit strong.”

“I… think that’s… an understatement.” Betina uttered with some difficulty.

Even Betilla couldn’t hide a soft grin over that. She leaned forward and pushed the knowingly prepared glass of water closer to her suffering guest. Its contents vanished within a couple seconds, keeping the terrible inferno at bay for the moment. Betina let out a relieved sigh, coughing a little from the after-effects. She looked at the nymph again, who continued to show no signs of distress, beyond a shade of red flushing her cheeks.

“But why?”

Betilla couldn’t stifle her laughter. “I like to have a cup, after a really anxious day in the Fairy Council. It helps clear my head.”

“That’s not how I’d put it.” she said. “Where do you even get this stuff?”

“One of my sisters gifted me a whole container.” Betilla pointed at a sizable metal container on her shelf. “Council work was very stressful at the time and she thought I needed something to unwind. The first taste was similar to yours.”

Knowing that she wasn’t the only one ready to combust over a spicy cup of tea provided at least some amount of comfort.

“It’s an acquired taste, to say the least. But I can’t complain about its effectiveness.” she said.

Betilla emptied out her cup, not even noticing Betina squirming in her seat. It was difficult to fight the urge to slap the lava-drink out of the nymph’s hands, for her own safety. Nevertheless, while it continued to generate plenty of heat within her, she really did feel somewhat more relaxed. Like coming down the other end of a perilous climb. She looked around briefly instead, taking in the sight of the cozy home. For someone in her position, her abode was rather humble, much more of a cozy little cabin, than the palace she had expected. Books, keepsakes and plants adorned the walls all around, reminders of both her long life and her connection to the forest in general.

“I’m sorry it took so long till we could finally just sit down and talk.” she continued. “I trust you and your friends have been doing well?”

“It’s alright, I know things have been very busy around here.” Betina said. Despite the age difference between them very likely measurable by multiples of her, she found it remarkably easy to talk comfortably around her. “Cookie’s getting along with the…uh… Teensies surprisingly well, Flips is hanging out with fairies all the time lately, and Lac-Mac, honestly, if he didn’t insist otherwise, I’d assume this is his home planet.”

“That’s good to hear.” she said, a kind smile present on her face. Her eyes much more direct though, to the point where she could swear the powerful fairy could see right into her soul. “And what about you?”

That question was a little harder to answer. “I… guess I’m doing well. Still taking things in a little.”

“Is there anything you need?”

“Oh no, I have everything I-” she shook her head. “Really, I can’t even express how gratefuI am. It’s just very… new. This whole situation, I mean. I was part of the circus for… I’m not even sure how long, and then we drifted around as runaways. Being here just, normally, without any demands or anyone hunting us, it takes some time getting used to.”

“Take all the time you need.” Betilla assured. Her age was more apparent through her words, rather than her inspiringly youthful appearance. “Life in the Glade is only ever as difficult as the responsibilities you choose to follow up on. Very few things are asked of the people who live here.”

Betina could only nod, suddenly craving another sip of that cleansing tea, for some reason. It would have been easier to just quickly purge herself of difficult thoughts, such as this.

“Have you considered our offer?” she continued, those warm, yet piercing eyes still coaxing every bit of truth from her.

She nodded, having thought about it many times in the past. Their arrival to Rayman’s planet was a difficult one, but had also presented them the idea of either staying here, or attempt to go back to their original homes. Her friends blended in quite well with the locals, and while many immediately mistook her for a fairy, the feeling of being an outsider would repeatedly nag at her. 

It was readily apparent that this planet didn’t exactly have the technological know-how to take her home, but with enough time and effort, she was assured that a portal could possibly be linked to her home planet. The decision remained in the hands of the person most unsure about the whole situation though: hers.

“Yes. But no. At least, not right now.” she finally said. “Maybe in the future, but right now, I think I’m comfortable here.”

“I understand. There’s no need to rush such a decision.” she assured. “We’d be happy, if you stayed, but if your heart calls you elsewhere, we would be more than happy to assist you in following it. And besides, I owe you my gratitude.”

She tilted her head a bit, thinking the fairy had misspoken. “For what?”

“For returning Rayman to me, of course.”

“What? No, no, I should be the one to thank him.” Betina shook her head. “Rayman pulled us out of trouble so many times, I can’t even begin to count. He did all the legwork… or footwork, in his case.”

“That’s not what he said.” Betilla said, her smile drifting into a grin. “He would go on and on about your friends helping him in various ways, whether through flight, mechanics, strength and jolliness, or in your case, being quick on your feet and almost always being on the same page as he was.”

Betina was tempted to down another cup, just to hide why her cheeks flushed red all of a sudden. While it was true, that their efforts were often cooperative in nature, it would have been a huge lie to say that Rayman wasn’t the centerpiece in their little ragtag group consistently managing to avoid recapture. To hear praise for her efforts, even in such an indirect manner, was both pleasant and a tiny it embarrassing.

Although once she pondered about it, none of this should have come as a surprise. Even if it has only been for a little while, that’s the kind of person she had known Rayman to be. Laid-back, happy and humble to a stunning degree. He hardly ever talked about his past, focusing instead on how beautiful the Glade was, his friends there and the many magical phenomena, that were part of his life. He just happened to omit such minor facts as defeating a power-hungry wizard vying for ultimate power, as a child. Downplaying his role was well within his behavior.

She flinched eventually, realizing the awkward silence.

“Sorry, it’s just nice to be appreciated so openly, I guess?” she said, growing more and more fond of the idea of just downing the whole kettle.

Bettila chuckled a bit, as her guest shifted around. “I have a student, who can very much relate to that sentiment. You two should meet each other.”

She had a fairly good idea of who exactly Betilla meant, and if so, she definitely wouldn’t have minded meeting her any number of times. However, that was a very different discussion. For now, she just nodded in acknowledgment.

“I’ve been thinking of traveling around a bit.” she said after a short pause. “Rayman mentioned a lot of interesting places and I’d like to see them for myself.”

“With your friends, or…?

"They’re all pretty comfortable right now, I don’t wanna pull them away from that.” Betina said. There was a tiny bit of sadness the nymph could pick up from her voice, but her enthusiasm was far more prominent. “I don’t mind going alone. I used to go backpacking a lot.”

“You should talk to the Teensies, they will be more than happy to supply everything you could need.” Betilla stated, without a second thought. “Polokus, our creator, tasked them with mapping every pathway in the world. They might be a bit forgetful from time to time, but they make for excellent guides. Travel for as long as you like and see as much as you can. You’ll always have a home waiting for you here, for when you return.”

The word ‘home’, was interesting to contemplate on. Back in the circus, she would dream of her home, or sometimes just a home in general, many times. Then once they were on the run, home became the place with all her friends. And now, after a long journey, she was offered one with no strings, no demands and no hidden agendas. It was hard to believe this was her life now.

“Thank you, Betilla.” she said finally. “I hope I can eventually pay you back somehow.”

“How about a deal then?” the nymph raised a brow and grinned. Before Betina could ask, she got up and approached the shelves, knocking on the fire herb’s container. “When you’re in Gourmand Land, be a dear and ask Edith for another one of these, would you? However, I can’t promise she won’t invite you to try some.”

Betina chuckled, sealing the deal without a second thought. Throughout all of the hardships, it was refreshing to laugh freely, without an audience to drown it out.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! While I wouldn't call it excellent, it kinda bums me how people often ignore everything about the short-lived Animated Series. Visit my Tumblr, @woodsofblight, for more!


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